


The Card Game of Life

by KingOfFanfiction



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, but not major, cardgamedeath!au, crack/humor, harry is life, narry storan - Freeform, niall is death, oh well, or vivid, that makes no sense, there's a lot of death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-07
Updated: 2015-04-07
Packaged: 2018-03-21 16:06:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3698510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingOfFanfiction/pseuds/KingOfFanfiction
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall is Death Himself.</p><p>Harry is Life Himself.</p><p>They play card games over their dying victims to see if they die or live.</p><p>Character Count: 2,513</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Card Game of Life

**Author's Note:**

> When reading this, imagine Narry playing card games above dying people, like on a floating tabl. (That makes no sense . . . sorry??)

Niall sighs and flips over an Ace, "Your turn."

Harry mimics the action, but instead of an Ace he puts down a two of Hearts.

This goes on for three other turns until Harry puts down a Jack, and then the slapping starts. Niall screeches, partially from the pain of Harry's large palm slapping his own and partially from victory.

"If you want her to live, you've got to win the game."

Harry snickers and shuffles the cards in his hands, "Don't you think this is a bit morbid? You know, playing a game of Slapjack above a dying body."

The heart monitor below them falters, and the healthy pace slows and drops a few inches. Niall shrugs and puts down a Queen, "It's not like they know or can see us, so why does it matter?"

"It matters because Death is winning, but she was good morally."

Niall wags his finger in the air as Harry puts down a Diamond, "Ah, my young tattooed angel, that's where you are wrong. She sexually harassed her co-worker."

"But she worked as a babysitter for the Church's daycare."

Harry bellows deeply when he's gathered the stack of two cards and mocks Niall, "If you want to drag this girl to her death, you've got to win all these cards."

Niall squints his eyes at Harry, "I'm still ahead by five cards."

Harry points to the monitor below his head, "It's getting healthier." Niall twists his eyebrows in concentration, eyes set heavily on each card that's turned over. He can hear the weeping of the family around him, but it doesn't affect him. He was Death for fuck's sake; he's drained of any pity or emotion associating with remorse or guilt.

Niall rolls up his black sweater paws and twitches in concentration when a five of Spades is put down. He has three cards now; Harry none. Niall carefully puts down his first card, nearly sighing in relief when it's revealed to not be a Jack.

"Go again."

Harry has this smirk on his lips like he could tell he was going to win, but he wasn't the guardian of fate. That was Liam.

"What was her name again?"

"Taylor."

Niall hums in response as he calmly puts down his second card, nimble fingers twitching as the card touches the pile of cards. Niall looks Harry in the eyes, his stature of relaxation not leaving his eyes. Harry has a gleam of competition in his eyes, and his eyebrows are raised, "Go on; my spidey senses are tingling."

"You're a fucking angel, not a super-human. You're not even mortal."

Harry rolls his eyes and slaps his hands on the table impatiently, "So? She's a good person, and I don't want to lose her. She was a vet once in secondary."

Niall shakes his head as his fingers find their place on the fold of the card. "She did that because she had to get her hours in; she doesn't even like animals."

"Volunteer work! She was helping!"

Niall leans forward, eyebrows raised and says, "She microwaved her hamster, and she pushed her younger brother down a flight of stairs."

Harry falters before regaining his defensive state, "So? You're going to drag someone to Hell because of their aversion to animals,  _and_  he wasn't even injured!"

"It's the intent that matters," Niall whispers as he turns the card over.

Niall whoops loudly and slaps his hand down first on the Jack, victory scorching in his veins. Harry gives a longing stare to the family as their nineteen-year-old daughter flat-lines, his eyes almost seem watery.

Niall looks back at the scene unfolding behind them: A mother hunches over her dead child, a father tries to pull her away, but the tears in his eyes are prominent; Louis is standing in the corner of the hospital, dull boredom in his eyes as he waits for Niall's qué to take her soul. Their desperation and pain paints Niall's eyes in a dull blue, and he doesn't feel any regret until Harry whispers next to him, "No parent should watch their child die, expecting them to go to Heaven when they go to Hell."

Niall concedes as he gives Harry the cards and orders Louis to give Taylor's soul over to Harry. He listens kind-heartedly as Harry whispers to her shaking soul that  _it's going to be okay, you're alright, just follow me._

__ _

"Are you ready for Poker?"

Harry whines in his seat as he flails childishly, "Why can't we play another card game? I suck bollocks at Poker."

Niall shuffles the well-worn cards in an intricate pattern, "Okay, do you want to play Bullshit?"

Harry whines even louder, his rather deep voice cracking as he twirls his body around in his seat, "But I'm even worse at B.S.!"

Niall takes a sip of his beer, earning him a distasteful look from Harry, and says rather monotoned, "That's not my fault."

Harry taps his chin, "Fine, let's do Poker because I don't want to lose this," he points two fingers down at the man crossing the street, "one."

The scene beneath them slows as the man eventually freezes with one foot stepping out onto the crosswalk, and a large fruit truck chasing after him.

Niall smiles pleasantly and criss-crosses the stacks of cards in his hands, "Let the game of Life begin!"

 

"What are you betting today?" Niall asks mockingly to Harry's already defeated face. Harry grumbles and crosses his arms as he receives his five cards, "The life of Justin."

Niall smiles crudely, "And?"

"My pride and ego," Harry whispers bitterly.

"The round of betting is over!"

Harry frowns as he discards four of his cards hoping for a straight or flush, but he huffs to himself as he surveys his cards.

"He's not that bad of a person, he's the CEO of a large,  _successful_  business."

Niall discards two of his cards, a smile faint on his lips, "Yeah, the CEO of a large, successful  _drug_  business."

Harry jabs a finger in the air, "He gives his dealers a bonus every holiday, and he was an altar boy."

Niall laughs, "Becuase giving a drug dealer a bonus is a good moral, and that was in the past, I don't think Church boys sell drugs."

Harry's worry lines grow deeper and more prominent on his tan skin, Niall had raised and only drew two cards. Harry was going to lose this one, so he tries stalling, "He's a really good boss."

Niall ignores him as he sips more from his beer, spilling a bit onto Harry's robes, "But Josh would be a much better CEO than Justin. He plans on turning the business into something more street-friendly and morally right, the things  _you_  like."

Harry crinkles his nose at the golden droplets staining the tip of his sleeve; that'll reek for weeks.

Harry folds and lifelessly puts his cards down on the table, "Woe is me!"

Niall wickedly smiles, "Are you ready to reveal your hand?"

Harry gives a defeated look at his cards, and an apologetic look down at Justin, "I guess."

After a few victory shouts and chugging of his beer, Niall comes down from his high and lowers his hand from the table, a shit-eating grin on his lips as his fingertips graze the mortal air. He snaps once and the scene plays out. Screams of terror, and one from pain, erupt in the streets, and Louis dully steps down from his stool on qué and drags away the horrendously screeching soul. He watches Justin's soul quake and cry, promising that he'd do better, but Louis and Niall both ignore it.

Harry looks like a pale sheet of paper as he watches the blood mix with the golden juice from the crushed fruit. He turns to Niall, a look of determination sparking in his eyes, and says, "We're playing  _Go Fish_  tomorrow."

 

Niall heaves as he reads the most recent Young Adult fascination around the world. He's in his shared motel bed later that night; he's regretting taking this book from Taylor. He twists his face in disgust before shouting to Harry from his spot on the bed, "Would you ever fall in love with a mortal?"

Harry struts out of the bathroom, towel around his waist and toothbrush hanging from his lips. "What?" he sputters, and a thick drop of toothpaste rolls off his chin soaks into the carpet.

Niall puts the book down, sighing in annoyance, partially from the book and partially because Harry's using his toothbrush, "This- this book! Would you ever fall in love with a mortal? That's disgusting."

Harry shakes his head, effectively showering Niall in small droplets of cold water.

"Listen to this! ' _His moans were the sound of velvet on lightning shards._ ' That's ridiculous, and disturbing on so many levels."

Harry shrugs and prances back into the bathroom, "You're the one reading it."

Niall chucks the book across the room and allows the motel lighting to soak into his pale skin, "It's stupid, an angel wouldn't fall in love with a mortal, that's against the rules."

Harry snickers as he plops down next to Niall, he was fully clothed and toothbrush-less, "So an angel defiling a demon is any better?"

His long legs gracelessly knock into Niall's as he inches into the covers.

Niall hisses and straddles Harry's hips, "It's much more exhilarating and hotter than a cliché romance between a mortal and immortal."

Harry only nods before shoving Niall off him and snuggling deeper into the cheap linens, "I need my beauty sleep if I want to look good beating you tomorrow."

Niall smiles to himself as he's greeted with the room number of the next victim of a ruthless card game between Heaven and Hell.

__ _

"Do you have any nines?"

"Go fish."

Niall sighs loudly as he grabs another card, "Fuck me."

Harry smiles innocently before whispering into the mortal's ear, "I'm gonna save you tonight."

Niall watches the man behind the motel door reposition himself, gun in right hand and left hand on the motel door.

"So, which one is this?"

"Ellie Golden or something. majored in engineering and is planning to find an ECO friendly substitute for gasoline. Got any ones?"

"Did you know she cheated on her husband thirty-seven times before their divorce? And no, go fish."

Harry grabs a card, nervously glancing at the motel door in the process. As Niall turns down Harry's inquisitions about a Joker, Harry interrupts the game and gestures at Niall's black jumper and torn skinny jeans.

"We should switch outfits tomorrow, I want to look bad a., or- or sexy."

Niall chortles loudly before taking one of Harry's eights, "One, you can't be badass or sexy. Two, you won't fit in my clothes."

"That really hurt me, Ni. I'm offended, really."

Niall giggles, but stops himself in the middle of the ridiculous reaction and coughs awkwardly at his sudden outburts. Harry looks displeased, and he huffs loudly, "Why are you Death? I have tattoos and I'm more threatening than you with my broad shoulders and amazing biceps. You're little and short, and-"

Niall seethes angrily and slaps Harry's arm, "Don't call me little  _or_  short."

Harry whimpers and rubs the raised, pink skin on his arm, "Why are short people so mean?"

Louis makes a sound of annoyance, "Because they're closer to Hell, now shut up and play the goddamned game! I want to go home."

Harry sticks his tongue out at Louis, "Got any Queens?"

"Nope, go fish."

Harry rolls up the sleeve of his white jacket, "I want to wear your studded combat boots and torn jeans, not a bed sheet. Hey! If you wear white it'll make you look tan-"

" _Harry_." Louis warns.

Harry pouts as he pulls at the ends of his cards, "Got any threes?"

Niall gives him his threes, the defeated look in his eyes noticable. Harry shouts in victory, "I'm going to win! I'm gonna win this for you Ellie!" and Niall smiles as he feels the cards under his bum are fondly warm.

 

Harry cries dramatically and flops to the floor, a shower of cards fluttering down onto him, "I couldn't win it for you Ellie!"

Niall only smiles as he once again feels the humid, dirty mortal air engulf his fingertips. Harry clings to Ellie's blond hair and closes his eyes, "I don't want to watch, she looks too much like you." and then Niall snaps his fingers. He drones out the deafening sound of the gunshot that sounds, too much like her bloodcurdling scream, and instead watches as Louis drags her soul away from her lifeless body, and into the pits of volcanic despair.

As Niall picks at the remnants of her crushed skull that landed on his lap, he wonders if he repents enough he won't have to watch innocent people die, and Niall thinks Louis wonders that as well because of the dark circles that have stained under his dark-blue eyes that tell stories about exhaustion.

__ _

"I seriously thought I was going  
to win."

Niall repositions himself in Harry's lap as he continues to read the short chapters of the book, "Mhm."

"Are you even listening? I'm really good at  _Go Fish_! I thought I had it in the bag."

Niall nods as he feels Harry tighten his arms around his middle and put his head pitifully on his back. He can feel Harry's disgustingly cold drool seep into his jumper, his  _new_ jumper, and Niall's left eye twitches. He sits up quickly, knocking Harry in the teeth with his spine, and shrieks. Harry's head is pulled off his spine, and Niall rubs incredulously fast at the wet spot on his back.

"Don't stain my jumpers with your saliva!"

Harry continues to pout and whine, "I'm, too busy mourning over the loss of my on-going championship in  _Go Fish_."

Niall pats Harry's stomach as he picks his book up and finds his page and sanity again, "I cheated."

Harry stiffens, "You cheated?"

Niall continues to read the last few sentences as Harry slaps his inner thighs with his large palms, "That's not fucking fair!"

Niall smiles at Harry's use of curse words, "There's no need to lose your demeanor, Harold."

Harry pouts and hits the back of Niall's head, "Ellie could've survived."

"You can't cheat Death, but He can certainly cheat you."


End file.
